Basic Commercial Fishing Regulations - Gulf States Marine ...

Possession Limits
Unlawful to take or have in possession more
than the number of sacks of oysters per boat per
day as set by regulation.
Leases
Persons, firms, or corporations desiring to lease
oyster bottoms shall make application in writing
to the Commissioner of Conservation and
Natural Resources accompanied by such fee as
may be prescribed. It is the duty of each lessee
to have established an accurate survey by a
registered surveyor of the bottoms, beds, or reefs
under his control; each corner shall be clearly
marked and defined with the lessee’s name
clearly attached. Intermediate markers shall be
placed and plat of the area filed with the MRD
together with a list of any persons using said
lease area (list must be updated every 30 days).
Restrictions
It is unlawful to drag any seines over the public
reefs or private oyster grounds. Oysters taken
commercially must be sacked (not more than ¼
Alabama barrel per sack) and each sack tagged
before landing. Tags may be purchased for
$0.35/each at MRD Oyster Management
Stations. Oystermen must check out at an Oyster
Management Station before oystering on Public
Bottoms and check back in to the same Oyster
Management Station. No oysters shall be culled
or sacked on board a boat in waters closed to the
harvesting of oysters. No oysters taken from a
public reef shall be culled upon a private reef. It
shall be unlawful to possess oysters taken from a
private lease and oysters taken from a public
reef on board a boat at the same time.
SHELLFISH – CRABS
All licenses expire September 30 of each year.
Licenses
Commercial - $51.00
Recreational – Saltwater Fishing License
Required (five traps maximum)
Nonresidents pay the same fee as that charged
Alabama residents to conduct the same activity
in the applicant’s state of residence, or not less
than twice the amount of resident location.
Restrictions
No person, firm, or corporation shall take, catch,
sell, transport, or possess blue crabs that
measure less than five inches (5”) carapace
width as measured from the tip of one lateral
spine to the tip of the opposite lateral spine.
Provided, however, this limitation does not
apply to soft-shelled crabs or to pre-molt crabs if
the pre-molt crabs are taken solely for the
purposes of shedding and held in compliance
with applicable laws and regulations. Exempted
pre-molt crabs shall exhibit, at a minimum, a
pink or red line on the back paddle fin, which is
recognized by the crab industry as a preliminary
pre-molt stage.
Soft-shell or pre-molt crabs must be held in a
separate container, marked “peelers” or
“busters,” from those crabs of legal size while in
the possession of fishermen.
Pre-molt crabs in the possession of, or held by, a
dealer for sale or processing as soft-shell crabs
are exempted from the minimum prescribed size
limit, if identified as premolt crabs and held in
separate containers marked “peelers” or
“busters.”
Crabs in a workbox shall not be subject to the
minimum prescribed size limit while aboard the
vessel. Commercial crab fishermen shall be
allowed to have in possession aboard the vessel
two workboxes. Crab boxes which are sealed or
covered, other than by a grader, shall not be
considered a workbox.
Commercial crab fishermen shall tag or mark
any containers of Alabama crabs in possession,
or that are sold, in a manner which will ensure
that such commercial crab fisherman can be
identified as the person who harvested the crabs.
Such identification required shall be the full
name of the crab fisherman and the number
issued to the commercial crab fisherman by the
MRD and the date on which the crabs were
harvested. All containers of Alabama crabs in
the possession of a dealer shall be tagged,
marked, or otherwise identified in this manner.
The identification number shall be assigned by
the MRD when the fisherman purchases his or
her commercial crab “catcher’s” license. For
subsequent years, the same identification
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